Compass
by Draconic Caduceus
Summary: A series of vignettes set in the aftermath of Friendship Like Phosphorus. Title inspired by Compass by Lady Antebellum.
1. All Said and Done

**Takes place after the main events of** _ **Friendship Like Phosphorus**_ **but before the second "epilogue", "After Ever After".**

* * *

Sometimes Armonie wished that the world worked like fairytales, where after the main event was over and the "good guys" won everything was magically fine. A scene would cut to an epilogue where Katie's house was finished and they all had their _happily ever after_ ; everyone could move on with their lives as if nothing had happened.

But things _had_ happened and life wasn't a fairytale; they needed to live with the consequences.

Mutt groaned deep in his chest and nudged his big head against her ribs. " _I never liked the idea of burying someone_ ," he told her privately over the comm implanted in her skull so that their comments wouldn't disturb Katie's mourning. " _I don't know why; it just seemed odd to me._ "

Reaching over, she buried her fingers in his curly fur. " _It does,_ " she agreed just as silently. " _But I like the idea of the memorials; the tombstones._ " With her other hand she tangled her fingers nervously in the silver chain around her neck.

Mutt nudged her with his large head again. " _Maybe you should say something to Katie._ "

" _The last time I tried to say something, I made her cry harder,_ " Armonie pointed out, making a face. Prowl glanced at them, brow rising.

" _Maybe you should say something_ ," Prowl said, opening a private comm to her and Armonie made another face.

Mutt huffed. " _He said the same thing, didn't he?_ "

Rolling her eyes, Armonie stepped away from Mutt's comfortable bulk and walked carefully to stand with the other women clustered in front of the white stone. Jordan leaned around Katie and Maggie to fix her with a flat stare. _Don't say anything again_ , she mouthed.

" _Jordan doesn't feel your sentiments,_ " she informed Mutt and Prowl. Nonetheless, she flicked her wrist to open her subspace bracelet and pull out the small cube of incense she had tucked in there that morning.

Katie smiled weakly at her, her father's dog tags clutched tightly in one hand, the chain wrapped loosely around her wrist. She was looking much better, already beginning to gain back the weight she had lost during her captivity. Whether she was mentally stable was another question but it wasn't one that Armonie had any right to ask; neither she nor Mutt were fully recovered from the battle that had sealed their bond.

As if sensing her thoughts, Mutt crept up to her other side, nudging his large head under her hand. Absently she picked at the leash draped across his back. " _Tim Thornton,_ " he said. " _He should be nearby_."

Seeing that Katie and her flanking guards weren't ready to leave anytime soon, Armonie followed Mutt's lead down the rows of white tombstones. There was something eerie about how they spread out in all directions, tricking her eyes. She and Mutt were careful of where they stepped, neither of them liking the idea that they walked on dead people.

" _Where are you going?_ " Jazz asked, pinging her over her comm. The Autobots had almost immediately warmed to the idea that they could speak to her without speaking out loud, much to Mutt's annoyance and Armonie's amusement. They liked to talk a lot behind their humans' backs, it seemed.

Mutt nudged her hip. " _More that we miss the feeling_ ," he corrected as if he had read her mind. Perhaps she had left her connection with him open, but that was hardly new. " _It's not uncommon for us to speak like this to each other even...on our own planet._ "

Reaching down, Amelia dug her fingers under Mutt's neck and he groaned in bliss. " _We're going to find the rest of the people buried in this cemetery_."

" _What other people?_ " Prowl wanted to know. Armonie could feel Mutt digging through the connection, an odd sensation that made her feel like ants crawled over her skull. He reported to her that Jazz, Saetta, and Prowl were included in the comm code, not unlike a group text.

" _The other humans that died,_ " she replied, following Mutt when he tugged her down a row. " _Why are we so far from them?_ " she asked Mutt privately and he shrugged his massive shoulders.

From wherever he was, Saetta piped up, " _I found Glenn Rodgers_." The message was followed shortly by a "ping" that Mutt translated as an indication where he was; it was just over the hill to her left.

" _We found Tim Thornton,_ " Amelia replied, tugging unnecessarily on Mutt's leash. They paused for a moment to bow their heads in respect and place another cube of incense in front of his tombstone. Of the nine humans that had died at the Decepticon's base during the Autobot rogues' attack, only five or so were buried in California; the rest were sent to their home states or countries, including Colonel Tanser.

Mutt sent a "ping" to Saetta with the location of Thornton's grave before they headed to where the engineer waited. It felt nice to be out in the fall sunlight, though she still ached from her injuries. When she stumbled, Mutt shoved his big shoulders under her to catch her and they both paused to let Armonie catch her breath.

" _Sorry_ ," she told him privately. " _Guess I'm not_ that _up to speed just yet._ "

Her companion grunted. " _Take it slow,_ " he said, not unkindly. " _We're not in a rush._ " He nudged his big head gently toward her prosthetic leg. " _Are you in pain?_ "

" _Yeah,_ " Armonie admitted, scratching her fingers in his thick ruff. " _But it's getting better._ "

Neither of them knew what to make of the strange phenomenon that resulted in their friends being healed of their injuries, nor what to make of the fact that Armonie had seemingly been looked over in this sense. Privately, Jordan had admitted that she knew that she had to have scores of bruises, cuts, bruised ribs, and pulled muscles but when she woke up the morning after the attack, she felt as if it had all been a bad dream. Not to mention that despite being hospitalized for a few days for malnutrition and dehydration, neither Maggie nor Katie had been as bad off as they would have sworn they were.

Regardless of her luck, ill or otherwise, it hadn't in fact taken long for Armonie to heal; not while she was under Saetta and Mutt's care. Sirena or Drago called every day to check up on her status and were seemingly satisfied with her healing. Only Mutt knew how concerned she was with her increased rate of healing. While it hadn't been as abrupt as the others', she had still healed a great deal faster than she should have.

It didn't mean that she wasn't still stiff and achy, especially where her prosthetics met skin.

" _I'll massage them for you when we get back,_ " Mutt told her and she scratched his neck again before moving forward again. It took them another minute to reach Saetta and she found the engineer frowning down at the tombstone in front of him.

" _Why?_ " Prowl asked over the comms and Armonie nearly jumped, forgetting that her comm with them was still open. It was a mistake she hadn't made since the first week she had gotten her implants so she supposed she may have been due for it. " _You're not related to them, are you?_ "

Mutt grumbled deep in his great chest, rolling his bright blue eyes at Armonie. " _No,_ " she replied. " _But their families were only told that they were killed in action; I was there and I watched them die. It's only right that I offer my respects._ "

There was silence from Jazz and Prowl; Saetta offered her a weak smile as she approached. He let her wrap an arm around his waist in a one-armed hug and Mutt leaned against her side.

"He wasn't even thirty," Saetta told her out loud, gesturing to the dates engraved on the bright white stone. "I don't think he had any family."

Armonie knelt, hissing when her prosthetics rubbed more against the tender flesh around the stump of her leg. The fresh grass in front of the grave was clear of any adornment; no wreaths were propped against the plain white stone, nor were there any flowers in the little clay pot for that purpose.

Flicking her wrist, she pulled out the small cube of incense and set it down in front of the grave. Beside her, Mutt leaned his massive head on her flesh shoulder, tickling her ear with his whiskers. " _I'm sorry you had to die_ ," she murmured in Italian to the gravestone. " _I'm sorry you're all alone here._ "

Mutt leaned close to the gravestone and murmured something in what Armonie assumed was Cybertronian. A sentence later, Saetta joined in and she guessed it was a prayer. She remained silent, wrapping her flesh arm under Mutt's neck to play with his thick ruff. Armonie listened intently as they prayed together, the odd rumbling and grunting and gear-grinding sounds of their native tongue.

Done, they both helped her to her feet and began walking back to where everyone had parked. At the crest of the hill, they could see that more people had joined their friends in front of Aldrin Keynes' grave.

" _Katie's family_ ," Jazz explained when they asked over the comms. " _They were here for the funeral._ "

Armonie limped along toward them, feeling older and achier than she wanted to. " _The funeral was a three days ago,_ " Armonie protested silently. " _Why are they here_ now _?_ "

" _They haven't been able to give a good answer,_ " Prowl said. " _The disabled girl wanted to come back._ "

Now Armonie understood why Jordan kicked Prowl so much. She rolled her eyes as they stopped to rest under a large oak tree at the base of the hill. The path curved around it with a little dirt-and-gravel rest area and a wrought-iron bench.

" _Watch out,_ " Saetta said abruptly, startling Armonie. A dog stood at the edge of the path, his tongue lolling out in a sign of good humor. His working harness bobbed on his back and seeing them he bounded over.

" _Byzantine!_ " a voice snapped and the dog froze. "Bad; come here!" In the picture of canine sadness, the dog dipped his head and trotted back to the bench, partially obscured by the tree's low-hanging branches. "I'm sorry," the voice continued, yelling a little and Armonie and Mutt approached. "He's real friendly but the idiot doesn't seem to understand that not only should he stick with me but not all dogs are friendly."

As they cleared the low branches, they found a teenage girl sitting there, the dog sitting dejectedly at her feet. Its harness made a lot more sense when they saw that she held a long white cane and a pair of plain black sunglass perched on her head.

"Mutt's pretty friendly," Armonie assured her. "At least, he won't snap." Mutt glared up at her with a single blue eye and she winked down at him. "Mind if we join you?"

The girl tipped her head to the side, not quite looking at them; it made sense given the evidence indicating that she was blind. "Not at all." She patted the seat next to her and shuffled over so there was more room. "I think both of you could fit."

At Armonie's nod, Mutt trotted over to investigate her guide dog. "My leg's aching me," Armonie explained, sitting with a relieved sigh.

The girl hummed. "Izzy, be good," she warned when the dog started to rise. With a groan, the dog sighed and flopped back on her feet. "He's useless," she told Saetta and Armonie but there was only fondness in her voice. She snapped her fingers and the dog immediately threw himself into her lap as well as he was able to, flopping bonelessly on her legs. " _Izzy!_ "

Armonie found herself laughing, massaging her leg near the interface for her prosthetic. "Is he new?"

Comically, the girl groaned. "No, and that's almost the worst of it." She scratched behind his ears and the dog outright groaned, trying to roll over to beg for belly scratches; he only succeeded in rolling off the girl's lap and getting dirt everywhere while he flailed on the ground. "We've been together almost a year and a half now."

" _Her eyes,_ " Saetta said in a private comm to her and Mutt.

Armonie glanced up at the girl and winced involuntarily. The area around the girl's eyes were roped with a web of nasty-looking scars, a few dripping down the sides of her cheekbones like she had been burned by scalding liquid; both the pupils and irises of her eyes were nearly the same shade of pale blue, almost completely blending in to the sclera of her eyes.

She looked closer at the girl. If her guess was right, she couldn't be much more than sixteen; fourteen at the youngest. The girl's hair was tied behind her head by a blue ribbon but already the brisk wind of the September afternoon had tugged strands free. Amelia could see, where her skirt hiked up, bumps and ridges along her legs like old scars a few shades lighter than her tan complexion.

As if sensing her stare, the girl turned toward her with a hook-lipped smile and Armonie wondered if the odd scars on her face impeded some of the muscles on that side. Her musings were interrupted as the girl held out a hand to shake. "My name is Erin," she said.

"Armonie - that's Mutt there, sniffing your dog's ass." The girl laughed, shaking the hand Armonie placed in hers with a surprisingly firm grip. Of course, Mutt was doing no such thing, glaring at Armonie at the mere suggestion, but the blind girl didn't need to know that. "My friend Saetta is over there trying to hide."

The girl turned her head in Saetta's general direction and Armonie was impressed. " _She's creepy_ ," Saetta said over the comms.

" _Shush,_ " Armonie replied. Out loud to the girl, she said, "Are you lost?"

Erin chuckled. "I'm here visiting my uncle," she said. "I know it's a terrible thing to say and an odd thing to complain about, but just when I had returned home after visiting - _attempting_ to visit, I'm sorry - him, I get invited to his funeral."

"That's a terrible thing to say," Saetta said uneasily.

The girl shrugged. "I'm sure you've said some bad things in your own time, old-timer," she said cheerfully. "I was actually on the plane when his body was finally released; my sister and I had to jump back on the flight and fly right back down." The golden retriever at her feet groaned and jumped to his feet, hopping in place excitedly. Erin glanced down at him with another hook-lipped smile. "I guess that means that my aide is on her way; he does that because he thinks that I'll take the harness off him when she walks with me."

Sure enough another teenager approached the benches. She was clearly older than Erin but paused just beneath the branches as if unsure. "Make new friends, Erin?" her eyes were almost nervous as they flitted from Saetta to Armonie, to Mutt, and then back to Erin.

"I'm glad you finally returned," Erin told her instead of answering. "If you hadn't, I would've had to ask _them_ to lead me back to Uncle Aldrin's grave and that would have just been awkward." Erin stood and at her sharp word and gesture, her silly dog stopped with a heavy sigh and leaned against her leg so she could grab his leash and harness. "Care to join us?" she asked Armonie. "Or are your prosthetics still bothering you?" With a quiet command to the dog, she walked toward the new teenager.

Armonie frowned at her, flicking her subspace bracelet into her palms; Mutt moved next to her, hackles rising. Erin's service dog whipped around, his own hackles rising. "I didn't say anything about prosthetics," Armonie said slowly, feeling rather than seeing Saetta's holoform sidle in behind her.

"My bad," Erin said airily, seemingly unbothered by the growling. She glanced toward the only other group visible in the cemetery. Katie and her family seemed to have moved on and were congregating near their cars. "Lucky guess. Nicole, is everyone getting ready to leave?"

The other teenager, clearly unsure, shuffled so her body was between Erin and the group still near the bench. "Yes," she said faintly.

Erin reached down to the raised fur along her guide dog's spine. "Come, Izzy," she said. "Time to go." The dog gave a full-body shake and immediately reverted to his happy self, bounding up and around the blind teen before wiggling into place at her side. "Hope your leg feels better, Mrs. Scordato," she called over her shoulder as they began walking.

The other teen, called Nicole by Erin, remained a moment longer, watching them warily before turning and walking after Erin.

" _There's something very wrong with that girl,_ " Armonie said over open comms, "throwing" the message through Mutt who looped in Prowl, Jazz, Bluestreak, and Saetta. " _The girl, Erin._ "

A pause. " _She's blind_ ," Jazz said, sounding confused but he didn't protest more than that simple statement.

Armonie levered herself into a standing position. " _I met her when we visited Katie,_ " Prowl said. " _She_ does _seem odd...what happened?_ "

" _Her eyes are all wrong,_ " Saetta grunted. " _Very, very wrong._ "

" _She's blind,_ " Jazz repeated. " _Katie told me that she was in Mission City a few years ago during the attack - that's how she was blinded. She got a few other bad injuries - lots of road rash._ "

Armonie thought to the lumpy, ropy scars on the girl's legs and shivered. " _What happened?_ " Prowl repeated patiently and she told them briefly.

" _The dog, Byzantine...he's not quite right either._ " Mutt said, shaking himself. His fur still stood on end, making him look like a cartoonish ball of fluff. " _For all she claims that he never follows her direction, all it took was a touch and a command - said only once - to get him to resume his duty toward her._ "

They watched the two girls walk down the path. Nicole walked beside Erin, out of the way of the sweep of the long white cane in her hands; Byzantine walked on Erin's side, his leash and harness held firmly in her hands. He was the picture of canine obedience: ears perked and twitched, eyes alert and head turning to look around. As if sensing their stare, Nicole paused and glanced back at them.

Erin turned as well, looking at them with surprising precision for a blind girl. She gave them another hook-lipped grin, tucked her sunglasses down over her pale, pale eyes, then turned away. Nicole glanced at her, then at the group under the tree, and followed.

" _I'm fairly certain that at least one of them isn't human,_ " Armonie said over the comms. Nodding at her companions, she stalked down the path.

" _Don't engage them,_ " Prowl warned. " _We're still in public._ "

Mutt nudged his head into her side. " _Don't engage_ at all _, if possible,_ " Jazz added dryly. " _Not until we're sure they mean harm._ "

" _Because identity theft is harmless,_ " Mutt grumbled privately to Armonie.

They met up with the group just as it was beginning to disperse until the only ones that remained were Nicole, Erin, Byzantine, and a pair that looked to be their parents. Katie, oblivious to their discussion about her cousins, introduced them all; the woman was Lyra, her mother's sister, and the man was Tyler, her second husband. Erin was Lyra's daughter from "Uncle Bucky the drug smuggler" (this made Jordan and Prowl's brows rise in tandem) and Nicole was from Tyler's previous marriage; Byzantine was, of course, Erin's seeing-eye dog.

Armonie found that she couldn't bring herself to speak to them, something that evidently made Nicole uncomfortable; she edged closer to Erin, looking as if ready to take a blow for her step-sister. Erin seemed to notice it too and transferred her long cane into the hand that held Byzantine's leash and harness so she could gently touch Nicole's elbow. "I'm hungry," she announced to the group at large. "Nicole and Izzy and I are gonna get something to eat."

Her mother cocked her head to the side as if confused but after a beat smiled. "Okay, dear," she said amicably. "Don't forget we have dinner at Chief's...don't lose your appetite."

It looked for a moment that Nicole wanted to argue but after a quick glance at Erin she merely sighed and offered her arm. As they passed Armonie, Erin paused and looked at her with eerie accuracy. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Scordato," she said and Armonie realized with a jolt that it was the second time that day she had called her that…despite Armonie only giving her first name. "I hope your leg and shoulder feels better soon."

As they walked away, Nicole very clearly gave her a _what did you do_ look that Erin returned with a hook-edged smirk. Byzantine walked beside his mistress, almost completely different than the happy, playful dog they had seen earlier.

* * *

Erin sat, regal as a queen on the folding metal chair, Izzy for once acting like a proper guide dog and remaining at her side. She felt bad, confining his boundless energy to her, but at the moment she needed to act _normal_ , like someone that Katie and her roommate J didn't need to watch.

"What's wrong?" Nicole whispered, leaning over her shoulder to whisper almost directly in her ear. "Izzy's never been this well-behaved and _you've_ never sat this still for so long."

Absently, Erin toyed with the cane folded neatly across her lap. "Nothing is _wrong_ ," she said slowly.

"Somehow I don't believe you," Nicole said dryly. "I don't like that emphasis."

Erin's lips hooked upward in a smirk. She had admitted to Nicole in a surprising bout of candidness, that the injured muscles in her face had felt strained. It had resulted in some very odd facial expressions from her throughout the course of the day, including that odd twist of her lips that was currently passing for a smile.

Seeing that she wasn't about to answer her not-quite-question, Nicole sighed. "Can I get you anything?"

"Something sugary," the girl said immediately. "Real sugar, not diet."

Nicole made a face and Erin laughed as if she could see it. "Watch out - you'll get diabetes."

"I would have just suggested a cavity," Erin replied. "But I suppose diabetes may also be an option." Shaking her head, Nicole nonetheless drifted away.

She didn't jump when someone else settled in the seat next to her. "I'm not sure we've met," the Rogue Autobot said quietly to her. "Katie calls me J."

"Hello," Erin replied, turning slightly toward him. Even though she was blind and she was aware that he knew, humans were more comfortable when she faced them, even partially. "I'm Erin...but I'm sure you could figure _that_ out."

J had a warm laugh and she could see why Katie liked him. "Not many blind people here," he agreed. "And I've heard about you."

"I'm sure all of it is lies," Erin replied. "Or, at least, most of it."

The Rogue laughed again, tipping his head back so the beads in his braided hair clicked against each other and the back of the folding chair he sat in. "I _like_ you," he said. "You have some bite." His teeth clicked in a mocking snap and Erin smiled.

"I tend to bite at air, though," Erin said. "It's hard to bite when you can't see; so you don't have anything to fear from me."

J chuckled again. "I feel like there's more to you than meets the eye, though," he said and Erin could feel the _shift_ in their conversation.

"Not much more," she told him. "People just tend to...overlook me because of who I am."

"And who _are_ you?" J asked.

Erin was only a little disappointed when their talk was interrupted by Nicole's return.


	2. Walk Instead of Run

For the first week after Armonie was released from the hospital, Jordan didn't see her _or_ Mutt in any of his many forms. Jack occasionally visited and aside from admitting that he occasionally saw them, didn't mention _where_ ; Jordan didn't ask, anyway, knowing that the pair likely needed to recover from the hunt on their own. She saw them briefly when they were summoned to the Autobot base, the base doctors wanting to have a look at them and the commanders wanting to speak to them about the incident which was being called the Rogue Hunt among the human personnel on base.

When the base doctors finished their check-ups, word spread quickly around base (in spite of supposed doctor-patient confidentiality and the ever-present, ever-sliding need-to-know scale) about Armonie's prosthetics and the "jacks" in her skull that allowed her to interface with her Autobot partner through hardline or wireless connection. Some hounded her, whether out of jealousy or curiosity or demands for a demonstration, while others shunned her completely, going so far as to leave if she approached them. Neither Mutt nor Armonie seemed too bothered by it but it made Jordan furious to watch.

One of the base commanders, Colonel Tanser, had been killed by General Keynes during the Rogue Hunt, but his remaining co-commander, Major Lennox, was present at the meetings. Jordan found that she didn't mind him so much, even if she thought that some of the questions he asked were rather asinine. But having been on investigations before and knowing that each question as deliberate to acquire all information necessary, she bit her tongue against saying what she thought out loud.

While Major Lennox was tolerable, Director Mearing was _not_. Something about her just rubbed Jordan the wrong way; it was most likely the condescending way she spoke to her and Armonie and how she demanded proof that Armonie wasn't "jacked-in" to any of the computers on base. She demanded to know _how_ they knew about the Autobots, demanded to know how they met their companions, and demanded to receive accurate dates and proof of their interactions.

Upon learning that Armonie's family had been attacked, Mearing demanded proof; learning that Jordan had found out about Prowl shortly after a major injury, she demanded that she prove her revelation. Many of her demands, though unpleasant, were at least reasonable but the insensitive way she poked at Armonie's obvious discomfort made Jordan briefly see red. It wasn't even _clinical_ , as Major Lennox's questions had been – Mearing had been obliviously rude.

When Armonie hadn't wanted to answer or paused for too long in her rather painful story, she demanded that Jordan translate; learning that the woman didn't speak more than a handful of curse words in Italian, she called in an interpreter and made them all wait awkwardly in the interrogation room. When she finally arrived, the flustered aide turned bright red when Armonie informed her first in Italian and then in English that she was a polyglot, able to comfortably converse in six languages; Mearing looked furious.

Mearing's questions continued mercilessly. How old were Armonie's children? What were their names? How did they die? _When_ did they die? _Exact date and time_? Why did one outlive the other? How did she feel when they died? Did she witness the attack? How did Armonie know that their deaths were caused by _Decepticons_ and not the Italian mafia? Rogues? Crazy neighborhood kids? Why did she put her remaining child at risk by taking it (yes, _it_ ) along on her quest for revenge? What did her family say when they found out that her and one child were the only survivors of the attack? And then when the other child died? Where was her family buried? When was the burial service?

Why did she decide to seek revenge instead of reporting the attack to the authorities? What made her think that she had _any_ ability to go up against giant mechanical beings? Why would she bring her troubles to _America_ when she _should_ have just stayed in Italy where she belongs? Or go back to the desert, since she was "Israelian"?

Armonie answered each question with increasing frustration, something that was only evident to Jordan, who had quickly learned to interpret the Italian woman's subtle facial expressions. Clenching her fists beneath the table, Jordan grit her teeth and forced herself not to say anything, especially when Armonie's eyes cut to her and she motioned under the table, _take it easy_.

When Mearing finally declared her questioning finished, albeit grudgingly, they had been in the room for nearly four hours. They were warned not to leave the country or to travel very far at all just in case there may be some issues later down the road with their knowledge. Stacks of paperwork, shoved into 4" binders such that they seemed ready to burst, were shoved across the table toward them. Mearing required them to read them out loud to prove that they understood the conditions they were signing; once they were done, they could leave.

Jordan nearly flipped the table when she found out that Armonie's copy was in Hebrew; she had to bite her lip to keep from laughing when Armonie mentioned a few pages in that it was very poorly translated and firmly requested a better copy.

Even Major Lennox appeared bored, having curled down in his chair around his phone and Jordan couldn't help but feel bad for him. He was clearly a "field" sort of guy and during his comparatively brief questioning, had admitted that he had been the Field Commander, not the Base Commander before Colonel Tanser had been killed during the Hunt; now, until a new Base Commander could be found, he had to deal with everything. The lines etched around his eyes and mouth were the kind worn by a man who had the world resting on his shoulders.

An hour into their paperwork, the door burst open, startling everyone in the room; Armonie and Jordan had both spun to their feet, weapons pointed at the door to find Mutt and Prowl, the former looking amused and the latter looking annoyed. They holstered their weapons in their subspace bracelets silently as Mutt trotted in, nudging into Armonie's hip affectionately. When she patted his head, his holoform shifted until he appeared before them as a teenager.

"Still on edge?" Hot Rod asked with a roguish grin that didn't reach his dead eyes.

Jordan grunted, returning to her seat. "Something like that," she said.

"What are you signing?" Prowl asked disapprovingly, coming to lean over her shoulder. "I wasn't aware that you had to fill out paperwork."

"This is a restricted area," Mearing said primly, trying to recover. "What are you doing here?"

Hot Rod eyed her critically, his blue eyes searing; he snorted derisively at her. "We've come to collect our companions," he said gruffly. "You promised that debrief would only take a few hours; it has been almost _five_."

"Five is 'a few,'" Detective Mearing informed him. "Our promise-"

"Bullshit," Hot Rod said almost cheerfully. "We're leaving. Take your binders, Army, we can read them later."

"Only the English ones," Armonie told him. "The one in 'Isralian' is poorly translated. Air is more binding."

Hot Rod grunted. "Then take the ones that are correct if you _must_ be that way."

"Are you hungry, Jordan?" Prowl wanted to know, easily talking over Director Mearing's protest. "Jazz and Katie invited us over for dinner."

Mearing stood up stiffly, fists clenched in rage. "Now hear this… _you_ ," she said, an angry blush turning her face red and blotchy. She stabbed a shaking finger at the large binders. " _That_ needs to be filled out and signed – _completely_."

"Jazz says that Katie didn't have this much paperwork," Hot Rod said, cocking his head to the side. " _Her_ form was much more straightforward."

"Bureaucracy," Prowl pointed out. "She likely signed her NDA with someone else."

"Ah," Hot Rod said, rolling his eyes. "That makes sense."

Jordan groaned. "Alright, okay," she said before anyone else could escalate the argument. Major Lennox looked a lot more awake, she noted, and when he caught her looking at him, he offered a smirk and a wink. "Why don't you help – Army and I will sign, you two will read the documents out loud. The sooner we're done, the sooner we can eat." Right on cue, her stomach growled and Prowl frowned. Wordlessly Armonie rolled an apple toward her across the table and she bit into it.

Though they didn't ask and she didn't offer, even Director Mearing didn't seem to have any fault with their process. Prowl read the pages out loud, speaking quickly and clearly without waiting for Jordan or Armonie to sign; Hot Rod corrected them when they didn't sign or initial correctly and pointed out the lines where they were to initial. It was still a lot of paperwork to slog through, especially given that the entire binder pretty much amounted to ' _don't tell anyone anything about Cybertronians or you will be sorry_ ', but with Prowl and Hot Rod's assistance, they got through it quicker than they would have on their own.

Another hour passed and Jordan nearly pushed the binder off the edge of the plain stainless steel table in her excitement for the paperwork to be over. Major Lennox looked just as excited to be able to leave and evidently Armonie felt bad enough that he was stuck with them for the bureaucracy he was so clearly not used to that she also gave him an apple to quiet his rumbling stomach.

As they stood to leave, Mearing held up her hand to stop them. She gestured at their subspace bracelets. " _What_ ," she said and jabbed her finger at them for emphasis. "Are _those_?"

When Jordan opened her mouth, Hot Rod slid his hand over it and she jumped; even as Mutt he rarely was within arm's reach of her, much less _touched_ her at all. "Nope," he said firmly. "We're leaving. Come on."

He released her and she laughed as Armonie grabbed her wrist and tugged her toward the still-open door. " _Hey!_ " Mearing protested and they broke into a run once they were in the hallway, laughing like teenagers. Light shimmered and Prowl disappeared; Hot Rod turned into Mutt and ran down the hall beside them, his tongue lolling out in a picture of canine joy. They skidded around a corner and raced into the open hangar.

Mutt disappeared when he reached his physical body and Armonie climbed into the driver's seat. Now that they were no longer on a stealth mission, he had changed his alternate mode to a red Ferrari with flames on the hood and sides. Seeing Prowl's holoform in the driver's seat, Jordan slid across his hood and slipped into the passenger's seat. He had also changed his alternate form back to a Dodge Charger though this one didn't have the markings of a police car.

Jordan didn't realize how much she would miss his relatively monochromatic scheme but she liked the way midnight blue looked on him. But she had been a cop for so long that it didn't feel right to think that she had been removed dishonorably from the force.

As she thought, Prowl snaked his seat belt around her torso and started his engine. A puff of dust in the distance marked Hot Rod and Armonie's departure. With a roguish grin that almost looked out of place on Prowl's normally serene face, he shifted into gear and with a screech of his tires, tore out of the hangar after Hot Rod.

* * *

To her surprise, Lennox and another man she had seen around base joined them at Jazz's restaurant. They all helped to push together a bunch of tables until Jazz became concerned that they would wear down the tables and make scuffs on the ground…then the holoforms had to lift the heavy tables to rearrange them.

"We don't share the views of most people on base," said a big man that introduced himself as Epps as he shook her hand. She was relieved to feel the gun calluses and something in her relaxed.

Lennox shrugged when Jordan glanced at him as Armonie and Jazz bickered in Italian in the kitchen. They all glanced at Mutt as he groaned and lay down by the doors to the kitchen. Neither Armonie nor Jazz would let him in while wearing that form and he evidently didn't feel like changing.

"We were there when it all began," Lennox explained. "I was Army Rangers before I was NEST," he added. "We were stationed in Qatar when the first attacks began two, maybe three years ago. Epps and me and some of our group were the only survivors."

Epps chuckled darkly and they clustered together around a table. "Some fight," Jordan breathed, thinking about the Decepicons she had seen during the Rogue Hunt.

"Yeah," Lennox agreed. "We were pretty lucky and back then we didn't know what was going on. A single Decepticon was able to take out the entire base." He jerked his thumb at Epps who grinned toothily. "This bastard here managed to get a thermal image though how he's not a red smear on the sand I'll still never know."

The other threw his head back with a booming laugh. "Hey, man," he said. "Don't be hatin' 'cause I got better game."

She listened, fascinated, as the pair bickered and described their terrified flight through the desert and then their confrontation with the Decepticon symbiote Scorponok. They told her how they realized that high-heat sabots could melt its armor and the long trip back with the thing's tail as a souvenir.

For the first time, she heard the whole story of Mission City, with Epps, Lennox, and Jazz recreating the battle on the tabletops using bottles, plates, utensils, and salt shakers. They were only just describing the terrified race to Mission City with the Allspark when Raoul, Jack, and Hound walked in through the back door; when they expressed curiosity, they obligingly started over.

Jordan stood to help Armonie, having already heard the beginning of the story and Mutt moved to take her spot at the table. In the kitchen, she found that the Italian woman had plugged her mic in and was no doubt connected to Mutt, who in turn was likely "passing on" the discussion in the dining room.

The woman gave her a smile as she handed her a plate to bring out. Jordan wondered out loud if _this_ was where Armonie had been hiding out, considering how familiar she was with the food and machinery; her friend gave her an enigmatic smile and a wink but didn't deny it.

They received cheers when they brought out their plates and there was a hasty shuffling as they tried to set up the tables so that discussion of the battle could coexist with the food brought from the kitchen.

Jordan leaned back in her chair, watching Rogues and Autobots, humans and Cybertronians interact. The humans ate with gusto, as Armonie and Jazz were as amazing in the kitchen as they were on the battlefield. Hardlight projections, as Prowl insisted they were called, sat with them, sharing stories of war and battles.

"What's wrong?" Prowl asked as in a surprising fit of candor, Armonie described the death of a Decepticon called _Vihr_. He leaned close to Jordan, nearly pressing his lips to the ex-officer's ear.

Of course, the majority of the table could still hear them clearly but for the sake of privacy, they pretended that they didn't.

Jordan shook her head and smiled at Prowl. "Nothing's wrong," she whispered back with a little laugh. "Everything's perfect."


End file.
